Monday, November 28, 2011

A while back, I posted this article called "5 Social Media Sites that would reinvent the horror movie". I asked why horror movies don't use Twitter, FourSquare, YouTube, Facebook and ARG's more effectively. But now it seems the creators of KillCam Live have done just that. They're telling a horror narrative using YouTube and then for 72 hours give you a chance to interact with a character via a live cam, where YOU decide if the characters lives or dies by performing some sort of task (either creating a YouTube mashup or spreading the word about KillCam). This was totally under my radar until I read Dread Central's posts on the subject (here and here).

I've now watched all 5 episodes that are currently online via their YouTube channel and Monday, will go on their Live Cam where according to the press release:

Every Thursday through December, an episode will play out online, moving the story forward in typical narrative format. The following Monday through Thursday morning of each week will host a LIVE 72-hour period in which one of the students will be trapped in a room, awaiting their horrific fate. During that period, the audience will be able to interact with the character via video, Facebook, Twitter (@killcam_live) and online chat.

Interesting concept and I'm kind of excited to check out the live cam tomorrow. But I'm seeing a few problems so far. The "characters" haven't gotten many Twitter followers or Facebook fans. Clearly, I think this would be difficult in any circumstance when you've created a character profile for an ARG that not people are really aware of as of yet. With so many characters and subplots, there doesn't seem to be a central location for everybody to check out all the hidden pieces of the entire KillCam experience. I think it's a bit disorganized and as a noob it was difficult to find out what users did as they interacted with the characters. But I'll check out the live cam and join in to get the full experience.

I'll definitely report back on how it went.

Here's the press release. (via Dread Central) What do you all think of this?

With almost a million live views and counting, viewers from every continent have become part of a growing "Killmunity", participating in a LIVE interactive horror project. With viewers interacting directly with characters from the ongoing storyline, Killcam: Live is single-handedly changing the way that audiences are interacting with their entertainment.

Like a wildfire sweeping the net, Killcam: Live has set multiple records with streaming powerhouse Stickam , and website killcamlive.com has already called audiences to stand witness to the brutal killings of three of the story's main characters and one surprise death brought about by the cries of the interactive audience. With each new week more and more "super fans" are being born, transitioning from curious bystanders to actual characters in the story itself. Audience members have created entire blogs devoted to play-by-play breakdowns of the episodes and the characters in them.

Each week viewers participate in a "Cill Contest", ripping footage from the episodic narrative and live footage and cutting together their own recap videos to bring new viewers up-to-date. With four weeks left in the story, there's no telling what will come next. No one is safe! Not even the audience.

Killcam: Live is the transmedia brainchild of producer April Wade (@actoraprilwade) and filmmaker Canyon Prince (@canyonprince). Part digiseries, part interactive real time experience, and part feature film, Killcam: Live is the next stage in the evolution of storytelling. The project follows a group of students as they willingly agree to participate in a social experiment put on by their charming psychology professor Michael Grayson (played by J. Michael Briggs). The experiment is meant to explore the effects of current human dependence on technology and social media as the majority form of communication. During the ongoing experiment, the students will be isolated from each other and their only way to communicate with the outside world will be through social media. However, someone has a different agenda in mind as things start to take a turn for the worse.

Every Thursday through December, an episode will play out online, moving the story forward in typical narrative format. The following Monday through Thursday morning of each week will host a LIVE 72-hour period in which one of the students will be trapped in a room, awaiting their horrific fate. During that period, the audience will be able to interact with the character via video, Facebook, Twitter (@killcam_live) and online chat. The audience will be able to inform the characters (in real time) what is happening and possibly even aid them in their escape...or demise.

"We are looking to bring a heightened level of interactivity to the audience" says Wade, "and we feel that this projects is on the cutting edge of a new age of storytelling. As filmmakers today, we have an international platform for our stories that never existed before and I am thrilled to be experimenting with creative ways to use social media to shape the film."

Prince adds, "We're moving farther and farther away from a traditional storytelling model. As people continue to consume more and more content via mobile devices, it's detrimental and entirely counter-productive for us not to take advantage of the enormous opportunities that interactive multiple screen storytelling opens up." Wade and Prince, along with Spence Griffeth, who penned the screenplay, developed the concept and story. Shot on the Red MX One, the narrative episodic of the show, as well as the feature film wraparound, was helmed by John Darko, lensed by David M. Brewer and executive produced by Ahmed al Baker and Mohammad Il Abrahim. Recently Darko and Brewer worked closely together on James Wan and Leigh Whannell's feature film Insidious from Lionsgate.